Reaching the pinnacle from Doupo

Chapter 526 Two Women Clash
Golden flames burned fiercely, making Xun'er appear like a goddess in the flames, sacred and inviolable.

The Golden Emperor's Burning Heaven Flame ranks fourth on the list of strange flames. Although it is not as mysterious as the top three strange flames, it still had a great reputation in ancient times. Moreover, this flame is the inherited flame of an ancient clan, and few people can subdue it.

At this moment, the terrifyingly high temperature contained in the golden flames caused the space around Gu Xun'er to distort slightly, emitting bursts of crackling sounds.

"The Golden Emperor's Heaven-Burning Flame truly lives up to its name!"

Huo Zhi sensed the immense power of flames emanating from Xun'er, and a fierce fighting spirit flashed in her eyes. With a delicate shout, she launched the first attack.

She quickly formed hand seals, and the crimson lotus flames around her instantly coalesced.

"Karmic Fire Divine Phoenix... Go!" In the instant the seal was formed, a blood-red flame flashed in Huo Zhi's eyes, followed by a delicate shout.

In an instant, a lifelike fiery phoenix emerged from the sea of ​​red lotus flames, its body wreathed in flames, and with a destructive aura, it pounced on Xun'er, scorching the air wherever it passed.

Xun'er dared not be negligent either. She lightly touched the ground with her toes and quickly retreated. Her palms flew between her fingers, forming a series of profound hand seals.

"Golden Emperor Burns!"

With a clear shout, golden flames surged from her eyes.

In an instant, a massive ring of flames, tens of feet in size, burst forth from Xun'er's body like a golden sun.

"boom--"

The fiery phoenix and the golden flame halo collided violently, unleashing a deafening roar.

A terrifying energy ripple, carrying a wave of scorching fire, spread outwards like a tide, sweeping across the entire summit of Tianyun Cross Peak.

The lush vegetation atop the Skyfall Cross Peak was instantly engulfed by the flames and reduced to ashes. The rocks also became scorching hot under the intense heat, even beginning to melt, emitting a sizzling sound and sending up wisps of smoke.

When her first attack failed, Huo Zhi's pretty face turned ashen, and her fighting spirit surged out like a tide. The Red Lotus Karmic Fire grew even stronger, forming a dazzling sea of ​​fire behind her.

She formed hand seals again, and a sea of ​​fire surged around her, condensing countless fiery lotuses that then spun rapidly and accelerated.

"Red Lotus Rain!"

In a single instant, Huo Zhi clenched his fist, and the lotus petals on the fire lotus fell off.

The sharp lotus petals, accelerated by their rotation, shot towards Xun'er with a fierce gust of wind. Each petal contained terrifying energy, cutting a black rift in the space it passed through.

Upon seeing this, Xun'er's eyes flashed with a hint of seriousness. She slightly bent her jade hand, and a ball of golden flame, compressed to its extreme, appeared in her palm.

Golden flames flowed slowly between her jade-like fingers, like liquid.

Just as the fiery lotus petals were about to strike, Xun'er gently raised her jade hand and blew lightly on the golden flames in her hand.

"puff--"

In an instant, the golden flames suddenly swelled in the wind, transforming into a golden flame shield that completely enveloped her.

"Ding-ding-ding-ding-"

The flaming lotuses kept crashing against the flame shield, producing a crisp sound.

The lotus petals, resembling fiery red sword energy, slammed relentlessly against the golden flame shield. Although they caused ripples on its surface, they never managed to break through the shield, demonstrating its astonishing defensive power.

On the other side, seeing that her own attack was completely resisted by Xun'er, Huo Zhi's expression changed slightly.

However, before she could launch a new offensive, Xun'er slowly raised her head, and golden flames flashed again in her eyes!

"go--"

With a light tap of her jade-like fingers, Xun'er spoke softly.

As she softly lowered her voice, the golden flame shield around her instantly shattered, transforming into a dazzling golden fire curtain from which powerful energy condensed.

"Hiss—", "Hiss—", "Hiss—"

In the next instant, more than a dozen golden flame beams shot out from the fire curtain, piercing through space and aiming at several vital points on Huo Zhi's body at extremely ruthless and tricky angles.

"Good move, but it can't do anything to me... Crimson Lotus Heavenly Protection!"

Huo Zhi smiled slightly, her jade hands clasped together, and she smoothly formed a set of profound hand seals.

As the hand seals on her hands changed, a vast amount of battle qi surged out from her body, intertwining and converging with the powerful flames around her. In an instant, it transformed into a double-layered red lotus fire shield several meters in size, completely enveloping her.

This crimson lotus fire shield looks extremely exquisite, seemingly both real and illusory, but its defensive power is astonishing.

The fierce beam of golden flames successfully pierced through the outer aura barrier, but when it hit the inner flame barrier, it could only create a few tiny ripples.

The beams of fire continuously bombarded the Crimson Lotus Fire Shield, producing a series of muffled "bang bang bang" sounds.

The Crimson Lotus Fire Cover stood firm like a rock amidst the relentless onslaught.

Huo Zhi remained calm within the flame shield, but the slight flicker in her eyes revealed the gravity in her heart—it could scorch battle qi, truly worthy of being called the Golden Emperor's Heaven-Burning Flame!
On the other side, seeing that her offensive had failed, Xun'er frowned slightly, a hint of sternness flashing in her eyes.

"Huo Zhi, be careful with this next move." She quickly formed several profound hand seals, then suddenly clenched her hand, and a stream of golden energy, like liquid, flowed out from her palm.

Xun'er frowned, grasped the ball of golden energy in her hand, and then pulled hard. The liquid writhed and transformed into a magnificent golden longbow!

"The Burning Sky Sunset Bow!"

Taking a deep breath, Xun'er drew back the bowstring, and the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame surged and gathered, condensing into a three-zhang-long flaming arrow on the bowstring.

Wherever the arrow pointed, cracks appeared in the space.

This familiar scene startled Huo Zhi slightly, and then his gaze became increasingly solemn. The Red Lotus Karmic Fire surged continuously from his body and into the Red Lotus Fire Shield in front of him.

At the same time, the mysterious pattern between her eyebrows also faintly flickered with a faint flame.

"Sunset Bow, scorching the heavens and destroying the earth!"

With a cold shout, Xun'er's fingers, which had been taut like a bow, snapped open!
Golden flaming arrows streaked across the sky like meteors, carrying a destructive force as they hurtled towards the Fire Child. Wherever they passed, the air ignited, leaving a long trail of flames, as if to incinerate the entire world.

Sensing the terrifying aura rushing towards her, Huo Zhi bit her red lips and changed the hand seal.

The mysterious patterns on it seemed to come alive, and the Crimson Lotus Fire Cover trembled slightly, flashing with brilliant flames, before suddenly shrinking and transforming into a three-foot-long red lotus in her palm.

"Red Lotus of Karmic Fire - Judgment!"

Huo Zhi raised her hand slightly, and the fire lotus in her hand flew out, leaving a dazzling trail of fire in mid-air as it rushed towards the golden flame arrow.

Along the way, dark cracks quietly spread!

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the golden blazing arrow and the three-foot-long karmic red lotus collided fiercely in mid-air.

"Boom!" A deafening roar resounded like thunder from the heavens in an instant, causing the Heavenly Cross Peak to tremble violently.

As the two terrifying forces collided, a huge spatial black hole suddenly burst open. Space itself could not withstand such immense power, and hundreds of feet long, pitch-black spatial cracks extended out from the point of collision.

A few blinks later, scorching waves of gold and red fire, mixed with terrifying energy shockwaves, spread wildly outwards from the point of impact...

The scene of such devastation caused the onlookers around the mountain to turn pale.

Some of the weaker individuals were even more shaken by the shockwave, their blood surging and they were forced to retreat. They stared wide-eyed in horror at the terrifying collision on the summit, gaining a new understanding of Xun'er and Huo Zhi's strength.

On a mountain peak not far away, four figures stood quietly, carefully observing the fierce battle on the Skyfall Cross Peak.

"Brother Lin, can you tell which side has the advantage?"

Xiao Yan stared at the girl in the green dress standing in the void, clenching his fist tightly, and asked nervously.

"Hehe!" Lin Yuan chuckled and slowly said, "Judging from the current battle situation, although Junior Sister Xun'er is at a slight disadvantage in cultivation, she still has a slight advantage thanks to the extraordinary power of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame..."

He paused, then added, "But don't be so hasty... This is nothing! They're just having a friendly match, and they haven't even gone all out yet..."

"What? They're still holding back after all that fighting?"

Hearing Lin Yuan's words, Mu Qingluan's mischievous eyes widened instantly, her face filled with disbelief.

Lin Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the battle atop the Skyfall Cross Peak, and slowly said, "These two women are both core members of ancient clans, bearing the pinnacle of their clans' heritage. How could they so easily give their all?"

"Neither of them has even used their clan's secret technique—the iconic trump card of their ancient lineage!"

“Xun’er probably hasn’t obtained the clan crest yet; but Huo Zhi, if my feeling is right, although there are still a few years before the ‘Great Sacrifice of the Flame’, she has already obtained the clan crest.”

"The biggest suspense in this battle lies in whether Xun'er has any trump cards that can offset Huo Zhi's advantage in terms of clan markings..."

"Let's wait and see, this battle is only just beginning to reach its climax."

At this point, his deep eyes narrowed slightly, and his voice held a hint of anticipation.

While the ancient clans do possess the Blood Burning Technique—a prerequisite secret method for their clan emblems—it seems to have no side effects. However, Lin Yuan doesn't believe they would be willing to let Gu Xun'er, who has the potential to become a divine-grade cultivator, use it.

But since Xun'er has come here to accept the challenge, the ancient clan must have prepared necessary trump cards, trump cards that can, to some extent, cover up the clan's markings.

Upon hearing this, Feng Qing'er bit her lip, a hint of resentment flashing in her eyes.

Although she had never been valued by her clan, she was extremely proud of her bloodline and talent. However, the strength displayed by Xun'er and Huo Zhi was far beyond her reach... In fact, she could not even withstand the aftershocks of their battle.

Thinking of this, she subconsciously clenched her fists and secretly vowed, "I must succeed in reverting to my ancestral form, the Ancient Phoenix... I'm determined to become it!"

As the group talked, the stalemate on the Skyfall Cross Peak finally came to an end.

"Click——"

With a crisp sound, the golden Heaven-Burning Arrow pierced through the three-foot-long Red Lotus of Karmic Fire and shot towards the Fire Child behind.

Seeing this, Huo Zhi sighed inwardly, then hesitated for a moment, her eyes narrowed, and a blood-red flame flashed in her delicate eyes. A mysterious crimson rune appeared between her eyebrows, centered on the red lotus mark between her eyebrows.

In an instant, a powerful aura rose up, and Huo Zhi's aura surged almost overnight, rising from a seven-star Dou Zun to a nine-star Dou Zun in the blink of an eye.

Under the impact of this powerful aura, the originally calm space around her couldn't help but ripple.

Huo Zhi raised her head slightly to look at the arrow that was shooting towards her.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, she neither dodged nor avoided, but instead stretched out her jade hand, with crimson lotus flames swirling around it, and reached out to grab the golden arrow of light that was shooting towards her.

"boom--"

The moment they made contact, a deafening roar erupted.

A terrifying energy wave spread outwards, tearing the space in its wake with countless tiny cracks. However, Huo Zhi's hand gripped the colored light arrow like an iron clamp, unable to budge it an inch despite the terrifying energy raging within it.

"Break!" Huo Zhijiao shouted, exerting force with her hand. With a crisp "crack," the incredibly powerful light arrow was crushed by her.

Countless golden flame fragments scattered and flew in all directions like blooming fireworks.

The onlookers gasped in astonishment, their faces filled with shock—Fire Child was so powerful that he could unleash such a devastating attack with his bare hands.

"This...how is this possible?!"

"As expected of the Fire Lotus Lord of the Flame Clan, such strength is truly astonishing!"

"Such a terrifying improvement, is it a secret technique of the Flame Clan's clan mark?"

Exclamations of surprise rippled through the crowd, and the gazes of the people looking at Huo Zhi were filled with awe and shock.

After crushing the golden light arrow, Huo Zhi did not retaliate. Instead, she stood quietly in place, her body ablaze with crimson lotus flames, and the clan mark between her brows shone even brighter. She tilted her head slightly, looked at Xun'er, and a proud smile appeared on her lips.

"Gu Xun'er, show your true strength, or this battle should end today!" Huo Zhi said proudly, her voice soft but clear to everyone's ears.

"At your invitation, this move... I specifically trained for this battle!"

Xun'er slid her hands quickly, forming several strange hand seals in front of her. A surge of golden flames erupted from her body and then, with a "whoosh," all of it entered her body.

In an instant, her dark eyes transformed into pupils filled with golden flames, and her waist-length hair moved without wind.

"The Golden Emperor's Heaven-Burning Transformation!"

A calm voice slowly echoed in Xun'er's heart.

As the last word fell, her aura suddenly and completely receded into her body, and then, just moments later, it erupted out like a volcanic eruption, overwhelming everything!

Gu Xun'er's aura jumped from the previous six-star Dou Zun to the mid-stage of eight-star Dou Zun.

She slightly raised her chin, her eyes burning with golden flames, fixed on Huo Zhi in front of her; Huo Zhi's red lips were slightly pursed, and the red lotus karmic fire around her was burning fiercely, standing on equal footing with Xun'er and the Golden Emperor's Burning Heaven Flame, without giving an inch.

As the confrontation between the two women intensified, the surrounding air gradually became hot and stagnant, so oppressive that it was almost impossible to breathe.

Seeing this, the spectators also felt a sense of unease—the decisive moment of this battle might not be far off!
“This familiar fluctuation, is it… the Three Transformations of Heavenly Fire?!” Lin Yuan stared at Gu Xun’er for a moment, a look of realization flashing in his eyes: “So that’s how it is. It seems that the Three Transformations of Heavenly Fire is the basis for successfully fusing and unleashing the characteristics and power of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame.”

"To be able to innovate upon the Three Transformations of Heavenly Fire and create this exclusive secret technique for the Golden Emperor's Burning Heaven Flame... it seems the ancient clans aren't so rigid after all; they do have some truly talented individuals!"

"I wonder if this move can be combined with the clan's secret techniques."

As he pondered, Gu Xun'er and Huo Zhi exchanged a glance, and their figures vanished from the spot simultaneously...

(End of this chapter)